OSCE Mission to Montenegro concludes series of workshops on empowerment of Roma and Egyptian women

The OSCE Mission to Montenegro concluded a series of three workshops on empowerment of Roma and Egyptian women in Montenegro, on 6 June 2017

One-day workshops took place in Bielo Polje, Herceg Novi and Niksic to ensure participation of women from the north, south and the central areas of Montenegro.

The events gathered some 100 Roma and Egyptian women from different local communities and provided them with an opportunity to share experiences on the prevention of early forced marriages and gender-based violence. They also discussed importance of the economic empowerment of women in terms of being able to effectively tackle these sensitive issues.

In order to ensure an active participation, each workshop was led by two trainers: a leading expert that was present at all three events and a co-trainer with a specific knowledge of the targeted local communities. Participants openly discussed very sensitive issues in an interactive way. The participants also suggested engagement of men in future workshops.

The project will continue by supporting a model Local Action Plan for further inclusion of Roma and Egyptian women and it is part of the extra-budgetary project “Prevention of early forced marriages among vulnerable groups” funded by the Government of France.